Sleeve-valve mechanism for internal combustion engines



June 4, 1935.

A. H. R. FEDDEN SLEEVE VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Feb. 21, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1111107127 flfred EEEddm "J 112% :Eflarneys.

June 4, 1935. A. H. R. FEDDIYEVN 743 SLEEVE VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Feb. 21, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 II I I II I I 55 I {63 I II I if? I II L I I J5 I 55 u I 0 L; |I if I 7 I I I 70 ,6 70

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SLEEVE VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Feb. 21, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 ZnvenZor 151E. Fs'zidew g7 KK W Q M \EZio-rmsys.

Patented June 4, 1935 "UNITED STATES SLEEVE-VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL, i

" COMBUSTION ENGINES Alfred Hubert Roy Fedden, Bristol, England, assignor to The Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited, Bristol, England,

a British company Application February 21, 1934, Serial No. 712,418 In Great Britain March 18, 1933 4 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to the driving mechanism of sleeve-valves for internal-combustion engines. Such mechanism comprises a driving element such as a crank or an eccentric and intermediate mechanism (herein termed a bearing assembly) between the driving element and the sleeve. l

The driving mechanism isusually somewhat inaccessible, being within the crank-casing of the engine and it has hitherto involved a lengthy operation to remove the'sleeve from the engine. The principal object of this invention is to facilitate this operation and a further object is to prevent parts of the mechanism from falling.

into the crank-case when the sleeve has been removed or is being removed or replaced.

According to the present invention sleevevalve driving mechanism for situation within the crank-case of an internal-combustion engine comprises, in combination, an unsplit ring, means accessible from the cylinder-head end of the sleeve, for detachably securing the ring to the sleeve, and a spherical coupling member engaging a spherical bearing surface within the ring and having a central bearing to receive the eccentric driving element slidably and rotatably within it. The sleeve may thus be removed Without the driving mechanism having to be dismantled and by reason of theone-piececonstruction of the ring, the mechanism is supported on the driving element when the sleeve is removed.

The invention is particularly (though not exclusively) applicable to a mechanism in which the bearing assembly comprises a casing (which is attached to the sleeve) and a single coupling member (such as a ball) locatedinthecasing and engaging the driving element, as distinct (for example) from assemblies of the kind in which 40 there is a third element, such as a pivoted link, interconnecting the bearing casing and, the sleeve.

Other features of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a bearing assembly showing part of the sleeve;

Figure 2 is an elevation at right-angles to the view of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4 are an elevation, partly in section, and a plan, respectively of yet another modified construction, while Figure 5 is a detail view to explain the method,

according to the invention, whereby the nuts are atfixed tothe bolt.

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of the engine to explain the method, according to the invention, wherebythe sleeve is removed from the. engine.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2 the crankpin ll of a sleeve-driving crank engages a coupling member .40 which is part of a sphere and is surrounded by a correspondingly shaped liner 4| which bears in a beai'ingcasing 42 in the form of a ring. The ball and the liner 4| are assembled into position by means described later with reference to Figure 3.

The engine sleeve 43 is formed at its lower end with integral ribs 44 and 45 which are interconnected by vertical strengthening ribs 46. The lower rib 45, is curved in elevation so that the ribs 44 and 45 constitute, in effect, a depending lug on one side of the bottom edge of the sleeve. I

l The ring42is secured to the sleeve ribs 44 and 45 by studs 47 which are threaded into the ring andwhich pass through holes in the ribs to receive washers 49 and nuts 48 at their upper ends.

When it is required to remove the sleeve 43 the sparking plugs (not shown) are taken out of the cylinder head 15 (see Figure 6) and the head 15 is then removed after the bolts 16 have been withdrawn. The induction manifold 17 and exhaust manifold (not shown) are then unbolted from the cylinder barrel [8, which is removed, after the bolts 79 have been withdrawn. The sleeve 43, apart. from its connection. to the crank pin I l is then' free. When the cylinder has been removed a hole between the sleeve and the crankcase 8| at 80 is uncovered, through which the nuts 48 become accessible and may be engaged by a box-spanner.

After the nuts 48 have been removed (see also Figures 1 and 2). the sleeve .43 can be drawn up wardly out of engagement from the ring 42, and by reason of theone-piece construction of the ring, it and the ball will remain in position on the crank pin I I and willnot drop into the crankcase 8| when the sleeve is detached. In order to locate and align the ring 42 a rod 50 (see Figure 2) with a screw-threaded lower end is passed through a hole 5| in the upper rib 44 into en gagement with a threaded projection 52 in the lower rib 45 before the sleve is removed. When new the sleeve is drawn upwardly out of the engine the rod 50, by bearing against the edge of the hole 80 in the crank-case 8| or by being otherwise supported, retains the ring 42 in the desired position. When the sleeve is to be replaced the ribs 44 and 45 are passed over the rod 50 whereby the studs 41 will be automatically aligned with the appropriate holes in the ribs.

In the construction shown in Figures 3 and 4 the bearing casing is in the form of an unsplit ring 58 which is afiixed to sleeve ribs 44- and. 45 by means of bolts 59. To make possible the insertion of a spherical coupling member 60 into the ring 58, the ring is provided with grooves ii at two diametrically opposite points, as in the well understood bayonet construction. The ball, by being tilted can be passed into the ring edgewise and is then rotated into the position shown. The construction shown in Figure 3 is similar in this last respect to that described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The engagement of the driving crank II with the ball prevents it from returning to its position in register with the slots 6|. ensure adequate lubrication of the rubbing surfaces.

Each bolt 59 is formed with an eccentric collar or enlargement63 which engages a depression in the lug of the ring 58 through which the bolt passes and the function of this collar is to prevent the bolt 59 from dropping through its hole and being lost when the sleeve 43 is removed.

The upper end of each bolt 59 is provided with a nut 64 by which the ring 58 is secured to the sleeve 43 and the two nuts 64' are locked against rotation on the bolts by a substantially rectangularplate 65 having a central upstanding tubular portion 66 surrounding a bolt 61 screwed into the metal of the sleeve ribs. The plate 65 is springpressed' downwardly by a compression spring 68 engaging the inside of the head of the bolt 61 and a flanged portion of the tube 66 and the tube 66 is guided in its sliding movement on. the bolt 61 by an inner sleeve 69 surrounding the bolt.

The nuts 64 at the top of the bolts are locked. to the bolts by means of. a locking plate 65 (Figure 3) having ends shaped so as to fit two adjacent sides of each nut as shown in Figure 4. At the middle of this plate is an upstanding tubular portion 65 surrounding a bolt 61 screwed into the metal of the sleeve ribs. The plate 65 is spring-pressed downwardly by a compression spring 68 engaging the inside of the head of the bolt 61', and a flanged portion of the tube 66, and the tube 66 is guided in its sliding movement on. the bolt 61 by an inner sleeve 69 surrounding the bolt. When it is required to remove the nuts 64 a hook' or like implement is engaged with the hole in the tube 66 and the plate 55 is pulled upwardly against the pressure of the spring 68' until its ends are out of engagement with the nuts 64. The plate is then rotated and released so that it falls into a position out of engagement with the nuts.

The top of each bolt 59 is provided with a reduced portion 10 the purpose of which will be explained with reference to Figure 5. The hear-- ing assembly is somewhat inaccessible (as explained with reference to Figure 6) and there is a risk of thenuts being lost when the sleeve is being removed or replaced, and it will be appre- Also, oil-ways 62 are formed in the ball to ciated that for any part of the mechanism to be dropped into the crank-case may entail serious delay. To guard against this possibility, a tube TI is screwed onto the reduced portion 10 of each bolt before the nut is unscrewed. The box spanner aforesaid (not shown) is then passed over the tube H into engagement with the nut 64 which is. then unscrewed. The nut. is now passed upwardly along the rod H and "through the hole in the crank-case into a more accessible situation and the rod ensures that the nut is not lost during this operation. Similarly when the sleeve is to be replaced the tubes H are again screwed onto the bolts and the nuts pass over them into position on the screw-threaded parts; the tubes H are removed when the nuts have been tightened. 1

It will be seen that, by the use of the present invention, the sleeve may readily be withdrawn from its driving mechanism and that the setting of the driving crank is not altered when the sleeve is removed so that the valve-timing is not affected when the sleeves are dismantled. Moreover, the bearing between the driving element and its surrounding coupling member need not be disturbed when the sleeve is removed although it may be dismantled, if desired, without diificulty, after the sleeve has been removed.

I claim:- 7

1. Sleeve driving mechanism comprising, in combination, an unsplit ring, studs screw threaded into the ring and passing through ribs or flanges on the sleeve to receive beyond the said ribs nuts which are accessible from the cylinder head end of the sleeve, and a spherical coupling member engaging a spherical bearing surface within the ring and having a central bearing to receive the eccentric driving element slidably and rotatably within it.

2. Sleeve-driving mechanism for situation within the crank-Ease of an internal-combustion engine comprising an unsplit ring having a spherical bearing surface within it which engages a spherical coupling member carried on an eccentric driving element, means accessible from the cylinder head end of the sleeve for detachably securing the ring to the sleeve, and means on the ring adapted to receive a locating device to engage the ring and align the parts during assembly.

3. Sleeve driving mechanism for within the crank case of an internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, an unsplit ring, means accessible from the cylinder head end of the sleeve for detachably securing the ring to the sleeve, and a spherical coupling member engaging a spherical bearing surface within the ring and having a central bearing to receive the eccentric driving element slidably and rotatably within it.

4. Sleeve driving mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the ring is attached to the sleeve by nuts and. bolts and wherein the bolts are formed with enlargements to support the bolts on the ring when the nuts are removed.

ALFRED HUBERT ROY FEDDEN.

situation CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,005, 745. June 4, 1935.

ALFRED HUBERT ROY FEDDEN.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: In the drawings, sheet 2, strike out present Figure '7; and that the said Letters Patent should. be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office Signed and sealed this 9th day of June, A. D. 1936.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

